MLB Player News

Kirk is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Red Sox.

Kirk and Reese McGuire have alternated starts behind the dish since Kirk joined the roster Friday. McGuire will take his turn Monday, but Kirk has gone 3-for-7 with a double in the two games since his return, raising his season OPS to .829 through 19 games, so he's likely to keep earning opportunities.

McCann isn't in the lineup for Game 1 of Monday's doubleheader against Atlanta.

McCann wasn't in the lineup for Sunday's series finale against Toronto, but he drew a walk as a pinch hitter. Tomas Nido will start behind the dish and bat seventh in the matinee.

Jeffers is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Tigers.

Mitch Garver is back with the Twins after a three-game absence due to a stint on the paternity list, so Jeffers will settle back in as Minnesota's No. 2 catcher. Jeffers drew five consecutive starts to close out last week, going 4-for-17 with two doubles and an RBI in those contests.

Diaz went 1-for-3 with a walk and a solo home run in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Dodgers.

Diaz's ninth long ball of the season briefly helped the Rockies recapture the lead after the Dodgers tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first inning. Even after leaving the yard twice during the series in Los Angeles, Diaz is sitting on a modest .675 OPS for the season. Even for a catcher, that mark is nothing special, but it should be good enough to keep Diaz ahead of Dom Nunez (.633 OPS, 37.2 percent strikeout rate in 183 plate appearances) on the depth chart.

Smith went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk Sunday in the Dodgers' 3-2 win over the Rockies.

After getting the day off Saturday, Smith checked back into the lineup for the series finale and provided the decisive hit of the afternoon, taking reliever Carlos Estevez deep to center field in the eighth inning to break a 2-2 tie. The home run was the 14th of the season for Smith, leaving him one shy of matching the career-best total he supplied as a rookie in 2019.

Knizner went 1-for-2 with a double, three walks and a run in a win over the Reds on Sunday.

Knizner drew another start for Yadier Molina (neck) and was a thorn in the side of Reds pitching all afternoon long. The reserve backstop has taken advantage of his current three-game stretch behind the dish in Molina's stead, going 3-for-7 with two doubles, two RBI, six walks and two runs over that span.

Murphy went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, a walk and an RBI in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Athletics.

Murphy finished off the Mariners' four-run third inning with a Texas Leaguer that fell in just in front of a diving Ramon Laureano for an RBI single. The 30-year-old backstop was productive in both of his starts during the series with Oakland, as he also mashed his eighth home run of the season Thursday. Rookie Cal Raleigh still appears to top the depth chart at catcher ahead of Murphy, who likely can't be counted on to receive more than two or three starts per week.

Perez went 1-for-4 with a three-run home run in Sunday's 6-1 win over Detroit.

The catcher opened the scoring with his first-inning blast off Detroit starter Tarik Skubal. Perez has homered in back-to-back games for the fourth time this season. He's up to 23 long balls, 62 RBI, 45 runs scored and a stolen base while maintaining a .279/.309/.505 slash line through 398 plate appearances.

Stassi went 3-for-4 with a home run, a triple and three RBI in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Twins.

Stassi slammed a solo home run in the fifth inning off Bailey Ober. Prior to Sunday, Stassi was batting just .167 over his last seven days. He nearly doubled his weekly hit total, reaching base safely three times. The catcher is slashing .299/.377/.526 with eight long balls, 20 RBI and 28 runs scored in 154 plate appearances.

Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Sunday that Gomes (oblique) was able to do some baserunning work and jogging out of the batter's box, Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post reports.

The activity marks another step forward in the rehab process for Gomes, who is on the mend from a left calf strain. If he continues to increase the intensity of his workouts in the next few days, he could be cleared to begin a minor-league rehab assignment by the end of the week. With Alex Avila (calves) also currently on the shelf, Tres Barrera has taken over as Washington's No. 1 catcher.